Policy recommendations

Learning happens everywhere and on the move: Let’s recognise it!

Today’s learning opportunities for young people are limitless. Individuals acquire new competences not only in the traditional setting of a classroom or at work, but increasingly outside of these environments.

Important learning takes place through participation in civil society, volunteering or traveling. These experiences generate skills, knowledge and wider competences that o en remain invisible. Learning mobility is one of the key ways in which people can enhance their development as active citizens and strengthen their future employability by developing personal and professional competences, as well as communication, interpersonal, and intercultural skills.

The existing recognition tools are not fully answering to the need for self reflection on and awareness, nor do they provide recognition and validation and of the key competences acquired by young people in these contexts. Open badges can innovate the recognition, validation and communication processes for key competences acquired in new contexts, with particular reference to learning mobility. Open Badges also allow for integration with existing tools and across sectors: formal, non formal and informal learning.

During the resent years there are other of policy recommendations which call for new and better ways to validate and recognise learning in various context. Some of them explicitly mention digital Open Badges as an innovative and beneficial tool to support learners in their efforts of recognition.

European Commission’s proposal recommends digital Open Badges

”Education and training is increasingly offered in new forms and settings by a variety of providers, particularly through used of digital technologies and platforms. Equally, skills, experiences and learning achievements are acknowledged in different forms for example digital open badges. They are also known and used for skills gained through non-formal learning such as youth work’. (page 18)

European Union’s Council recommends digital Open Badges

“To appeal to young people and to ensure greater impact on their lives, new settings where young people spend their time, such as modern city infrastructure and virtual space, as well as new approaches using innovative online and offline tools (such as gamification, GPS based activities, learning badges or design thinking), should be reflected upon and taken into account in the further development of education and training of youth workers.” (page 4)

“Learning badges are virtual badges in the online space which ratify learners ́ achievements. Some companies support this idea, including Mozilla, which created an online platform called Open badges. This fits in well with initiatives around the recognition of non-formal learning in youth work.” (page 4)

Bologna Open Recognition Declaration calls for using Open Badges

“Open Badges, the open standard for the recognition of learning achievements has proved the power of a simple, affordable, resilient and trustworthy technology to create an open recognition ecosystem working across countries, educational sectors, work, social environments and technologies.”

“Open Badges have demonstrated that we have the means and the opportunity to put an end to the disparities of the recognition landscape. Connecting and informing competency frameworks, they become the building blocks of an open architecture for the recognition of lifelong and life wide learning achievements.”